Knowing When To Change Aircraft Parts

There are a lot of positives when it comes to owning a plane. Much like owning a car, a plane allows you to get anywhere that you need to go whenever you want to do it. Of course, compared to a car, a plane allows you to go further than a car in a lot less time. Whether you have a small two person plane or a big Jetstream, the benefits of owning a plane are rather obvious. Of course, if you are going to own a plane you also are going to have to make sure that it is always in stellar working condition. Unlike a car where you can, say, wait a few thousand miles before you replace that part or get that oil change, with a plane it's never smart to take that chance because you are going to be airborne if something were to happen. With that in mind, you need to make sure that you get the aircraft parts & supplies for your plane before you actually need them.

But how do you make sure that you are always up to date with what on your plane needs to be fixed or replaced? The easiest thing to do is to keep a log. Chances are you aren't the kind of person who knows when to change a part just by looking at it, or by listening to it as it runs. Someone who has spent their lives fixing up planes can probably tell you when a belt needs to be changed even before you hear a streak. If you haven't spent your entire life working on planes, though, you are going to need some help remembering, which is where the journal comes into place.

If you keep a log (or journal, whatever you want to call it), you know when the right time to change a part is before it starts giving you problems. Your whole goal when owning a plane is to keep it in stellar running condition, which means replacing parts before it gets to the point where they cause you issues. With a log you can see that you need to replace an engine part in six months, which allows you to order the part and have it at the ready when you need to replace it. This won't just help you keep your plane in working order, but will also allow you to save money on expensive repairs if a part actually goes out.